Michigan
13-0,3-0Big Ten
USC
12-2,1-2Big Ten
Johnson's Career-High 29 Points Lead Way in U-M Win Over No. 24 USC
1/2/2026 10:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The second-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team was led by a career night from Morez Johnson Jr. as the Wolverines rolled to a 96-66 victory over No. 24 USC on Friday night (Jan. 2) at Crisler Center.
Leaders and Best
Johnson posted a career-high 29 points, going 10-of-12 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line, while pulling down six rebounds in 26 minutes of play. Roddy Gayle Jr. came off the bench and finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. L.J. Cason, Will Tschetter and Trey McKenney each contributed 10 off the bench.
First Half
Michigan (13-0, 3-0 Big Ten) applied scoring pressure down low early, one bucket coming off an Aday Mara offensive rebound and putback layup, followed by a Yaxel Lendeborg dunk assisted by Mara on the following offensive possession. Both buckets came off early USC turnovers. The early minutes of this game were all Mara, recording at least one of the four major stats just two minutes into the game, including a career-high three steals. The steals were half of Michigan's six forced turnovers by the under-16-minute media timeout.
The Wolverine defense held USC scoreless on seven straight field-goal attempts, including four three-pointers, until the 13:20 mark, by which point Michigan was in the bonus. After nearly three minutes without points, Lendeborg drained a three-pointer from in front of the USC bench, U-M's first triple of the night. Elliot Cadeau hit one of his own for his first points on the ensuing possession. These buckets were the first Michigan-made field goals from outside the paint.
Johnson scored nine straight points for the Wolverines across just over three minutes of play, making three layups and three free throws, to hover close to a double-digit lead with 4:39 to go. Dusty May successfully used his coach's challenge with 4:04 remaining in the first half, off a missed Trojan shot and a ball out of bounds. Cadeau capitalized, hitting a floater off a drive to the rim, stretching Michigan's lead to 34-21. Johnson then scored three straight buckets, including two dunks in under 50 seconds, to grow that lead to 17, 43-26. The Wolverines took an 18-point lead into the break, scoring 28 of their 49 first-half points in the paint.
Second Half
Johnson drew two shooting fouls to start the second half and converted on all four free throws. Exciting ball movement on a Mara-to-Gayle lay-in grew the lead to 23, 55-32, with 16:57 remaining. The teams traded buckets, highlighted by a Johnson three-pointer from the top of the key -- the third of his career -- to set a new career high for points with 13:18 still to play.
McKenney and Gayle were responsible for 10 points scored over three minutes just before the under-eight timeout. McKenney scored the first four off a pair of free throws and a fast-break layup, followed by Gayle's six from a free throw, a layup, and a shot from behind the arc.
Reserves saw minutes toward the tail end of the game, with Winters Grady scoring in his seventh straight appearance. Cason grabbed a late steal for a layup that completed the Wolverines' eighth 30-point win in their last nine games.
What's Next
Michigan will hit the court again on Tuesday (Jan. 6) at 7 p.m., when it faces Penn State in State College, Pa., at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game will be broadcast live on FS1.
Notes
• Michigan is the first team in the AP Poll era to win three straight games against ranked opponents by 30 points after also beating No. 7 Auburn (Nov. 25, 102-72) and No. 12 Gonzaga (Nov. 26, 101-61) at the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas.
• Tonight's victory marks the 10th victory of 25 points or more this season, including a stretch of nine such victories in the last 10 games.
• May joins Kelvin Sampson (Houston), Dan Hurley (UConn), and Jon Scheyer (Duke) as coaches with 100 or more wins in the last four seasons. It is also May's 40th win at Michigan, posting a record of 40-10 through 50 games across the last two seasons.
• Michigan moves to 14-6 to start the calendar year, dating back to 2007.
• For the eighth time in the first 13 games, Michigan has held opponents to single-digit assists. USC's four assists are the second-lowest for an opponent this season.
• Johnson's 29 points set a new career high as were his 12 field-goal and 10 free-throw attempts. It marked the eighth time this season he missed two shots or fewer from the field, entering the game ranked 11th in the nation in field-goal percentage (.663).
• Michigan finished with 40 rebounds or more for the 12th time this season.
